Collateral Damage Daily for June 25

Even though Ryan Zimmerman is playing, his shoulder is still bothering him. If it does not calm down quickly, he will probably have a cortisone injection and could even need another trip to the DL. He did have an injection of numbing medication similar to lidocaine prior to Sunday’s game, which helped the pain. His shoulder is almost certainly a factor in his troubles at the plate since returning from DL over a month ago. We’ll have to see how his shoulder fares over the next few days. ... Jose Altuve limped off the field yesterday after straining his right hamstring. Hamstring injuries often require a DL stint, especially when the player limps off the field. The Astros should provide an update within a few days. … Matt Capps suffered a setback in his recovery from right shoulder inflammation after his outing on Saturday. There seems to be a good chance he ends up on the DL, but he will undergo further testing prior to any decision. … Matt Harrison left yesterday’s game because of lower back tightness on his left side and will be re-evaluated over the next few days to see if he will be able to make his next start.

Additions

Brandon McCarthy was skipped yesterday after recurrent soreness in his right shoulder and was subsequently placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 20. McCarthy has a long history of shoulder problems, mostly because of stress fractures and a strain about one month ago. The hope was that his shoulder was fully recovered after missing 15 days on the DL, but he only made two starts. He was sharp in the start, but the soreness has remained sore despite daily treatment. McCarthy is likely going to miss more than the 15 days, just like Matt Kemp is missing more than he did last time from a recurrent strain. Shoulder strains average 54 days lost for a starting pitcher, but Oakland has not given an updated timeline for McCarthy’s recovery.

Anthony Bass hoped to avoid the disabled list after showing improvement on Saturday, but it was not enough to make his next start tomorrow. With over 150 cases on shoulder inflammation in the database so far—not counting those that ended up with surgery—the average days missed for starting pitchers is 44. The move was made retroactive to June 21, so he is eligible to return on July 6. Andy Parrino was activated in a corresponding move, but Tuesday’s starter is almost certainly going to be coming up from the minors.

When word first came out 24 hours in advance that Clay Buchholz was going to be scratched from Sunday’s start, it didn’t seem that serious despite the odd timing of the announcement. On Sunday, he was placed on the 15-day DL with a gastrointestinal illness that required hospitalization. Many things can require hospitalization when it comes to gastrointestinal issues ,but the most common causes are dehydration and a bleed of some sort. Obviously, dehydration is the lesser of these two evils. There is one comparable in the database for an intestinal bleed—Chan Ho Park in 2006. It was serious enough to require surgery and kept Park on the 15-day DL for about five weeks. Until we get a timeline from the Red Sox, any expected return date is speculation.

While Bartolo Colon may have saved his career with stem cell surgery on his shoulder in 2010, it just means that other parts of his body now have a chance to be injured. He did injure the same oblique in 2008 and missed 36 days. In starting pitchers, the average time lost at the major-league level is 34 days, although some have come back in the minimum 15 days. The Athletics haven’t announced an expected return date yet, but Colon will likely need at least one rehab start.

Shaun Marcum was placed on the 15-day DL Saturday with right elbow tightness; the move was made retroactive to June 15. He will be eligible to return on June 30, which the Brewers fully expect he will be able to do. Marcum had Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2008 season, but there does not appear to be any concern of an injury to the graft. Travis Ishikawa was activated in a corresponding move.

Collin Cowgill joined teammate Bartolo Colon on the 15-day DL with a sprained left ankle that he injured while diving to try to catch a Brandon Belt fly ball on Friday. Cowgill has not really produced in his limited time; his TAv is a paltry .243, and he has a BWARP of 0.2. The average time lost for outfielders is 34 days, although many have come back right around the minimum amount of time. Cowgill, however, was diagnosed with a Grade II or moderate ankle sprain, which tends to require several weeks to recover. Brandon Hicks was called up from Sacramento to take Cowgill’s roster spot.

Joe Saunders was placed on the DL with a strained left shoulder over the weekend. The move was retroactive to June 17, which makes Saunders eligible to return on July 2. The overall average time lost for shoulder strains in starting pitchers is about 55 days (80 cases), but interestingly only 40 days in lefties (19 cases). A little concerning is the multiple episodes of shoulder soreness, stiffness, and inflammation Saunders has dealt with over the past four years. Jonathan Albaladejo was recalled to take his roster spot.

Philip Humber was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 17 with a right flexor mass strain in his elbow. As serious as it sounds, starters and relievers both average around 45 days missed because of the injury. The concern lies in protecting all of the other structures surrounding the area, which includes the ulnar collateral ligament that lies underneath the common flexor mass tendon. The good news is that Humber has no pain while playing catch. Brian Bruney was called up to take Humber’s spot on the roster.

Matt Joyce was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to June 20, with a left oblique strain, though the original diagnosis was lower back soreness. Oblique injuries for outfielders don’t cost as much time as the same injury to pitchers, but the difference is only five days. Joyce is eligible to return on July 5, but in the interim, Brandon Gomes was called up from Durham.

Mitch Moreland was also placed on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 20, with a left hamstring strain. He is expected to miss four to six weeks, suggesting that this is more than the average strained hamstring. First basemen averaged 23 days on the DL with a hamstring strain, so this does appear to be severe by comparison. First base will be filled by Michael Young and Mike Napoli in the interim. Roy Oswalt was called up to take the roster spot.

Subtractions

Andy Parrino

was activated after spending 24 days on the DL with a sprained right hand/wrist. Parrino isn’t expected to provide significant contributions at the plate, but his positional flexibility increases his value. Bass was placed on the DL as a corresponding move.

Travis Ishikawa was activated from the 15-day DL this weekend after spending 28 days recovering from a strained oblique. This is a week longer than the average first baseman, but the Brewers wanted to be sure he wasn’t going to come back too early. Marcum was placed on the DL in a corresponding move.

Jon Jay was activated from the 15-day DL after only two rehab games and 38 days on the DL. The residual soreness from his separated right shoulder finally dissipated, and he was slotted back into the starting lineup as the starting center fielder. Based on how he looked in his first few games back, it does not appear that the shoulder should bother him in the future.

Matt Carpenter was activated from the 15-day DL on Friday after spending a month of the disabled list with a strained right oblique. Carpenter looks to resume his .303 TAv in a limited role while Berkman recovers from his knee surgery.

Bill Bray was activated on Friday after he missed over two months with a strained left groin. He first injured his groin in spring training, then aggravated the injury in early April. Bray is heading back to the bullpen as a set-up man.

Salvador Perez was activated from the 60-day DL after coming back from his left lateral meniscus surgery on March 16. The Royals were very cautious in Perez’s progression in part because lateral meniscus tears can be tricky to heal and the rigors of catching aren’t exactly kind to overall knee health. Tommy Hottovy was sent to Omaha to clear room for Perez.

Cesar Izturis was activated from the DL over the weekend. He spent 27 days on the DL recovering from his strained hamstring and should be seeing his fair share of starts at shortstop.

Jonathan Herrera was activated from the DL on Friday. He missed a month with a strained hamstring—30 days to be exact—and is expected to split time with Marco Scutaro while the Rockies wait for Tulowitzki to heal from groin surgery.

Alan Farina was activated from the disabled list and sent to the minors after recovering from last July’s Tommy John surgery. He was not effective on his rehab assignment.

Ryan Langerhans was activated from the disabled list on Saturday and outrighted to Triple-A. Pretty safe to say he wasn’t going to get regular at-bats with the Angels’ outfield playing as well as it is.

The Red Sox activated Jason Repko from the 15-day DL on Friday and outrighted him to Pawtucket. His separated shoulder cost him 62 days on the DL, while the average for outfielders is around 36.

Kosuke Fukudome was activated from the 15-day DL on Friday and designated him for assignment. He only missed 18 days on the DL, which is toward the low end for all players.

Ben Francisco was activated from the DL on Sunday after 34 days dealing with a left hamstring strain. Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos mentioned a potential platoon situation.

Ramon Ramirez was activated on Sunday once his hamstring healed. He wasn’t particularly effective while on his rehab assignment. Ramirez had 24 days to think about what he will do the next time a Mets pitcher throws a no-hitter, but he is probably going to be waiting a lot longer than that to see another one.

Ruben Tejada was activated from the disabled list once his strained quad healed. Despite only getting five hits in 30 at-bats while rehabbing, Tejada felt he was ready for several days. Tejada was slotted right back into the starting lineup Sunday night against CC Sabathia. Jordany Valdespin was sent down to make room for Tejada.

Aaron Cook started on Sunday in place of Clay Buchholz. Cook was able to keep the Atlanta Braves at a reasonable distance and allowed the Red Sox offense to take over the game. Cook ended up missing seven weeks because of the nasty laceration on his knee. It looks like Cook will remain in the starting rotation for at least the short term.

Chris Marrero was activated from the DL on Saturday and optioned to Syracuse. Marrero has been on the DL the entire year after needing surgery to reattach his hamstring back in November. He was fairly productive while on his rehab stint, so there is a good chance he will be called up later on this summer.